About Us
The Rural Eyeglasses Project is an organization based in the United States, whose mission is to create self-sustaining, ongoing rural clinics to distribute eyeglasses to people in less developed countries. We collect donated eyeglasses, used ophthalmic equipment for vision testing, and monetary donations in the USA. We take the equipment and eyeglasses to a third world country. Central American is our current focus, and we have been most active in Nicaragua.
How it works
In the host country we work with local community development organizations, called Social Commissions. The Social Commission is a non profit group of local citizens, who volunteer their time to coordinate projects with outside non-profit organizations and Sister City Projects to help better their community. Examples of such work are low cost pharmacies, plumbing projects, agricultural projects, and improved health services.
The Rural Eyeglasses Project began as one of these Social Commission Projects, a project to help get eyeglasses to poor people who could not otherwise afford them. We have made two trips to Somotillo, Nicaragua to set up the first clinic, and began distribution of eyeglasses provided by the Georgia Lions Eye Foundation. These donated items are collected and inventoried here at our office in Vermont, and funds are solicited to pay for shipping, travel costs and on site expenses in the host country.
The basic principle for the project is to teach rural community volunteers to match donated eyeglasses to the people who need them. We bring a used auto refractor, donated by an ophthalmic distributor and previously used eyeglasses with the prescription enclosed to a town. We teach local volunteers to do vision testing. They set up and operate small eyeglasses clinics in their community on a continuing basis.
We come. We teach. We leave. We send more eyeglasses. The project continues when we are gone. We help people to help themselves. Once people can see well enough, they can learn to read and write and can improve their chances for meaningful employment.
The project was started and continues to operate in Nicaragua. Our goal is to spread awareness of this very simple and straightforward approach to assisting third world communities worldwide to help themselves. We seek the active participation of other like minded individuals and organizations who wish to further our work in Nicaragua or who wish to provide the support needed to establish similar projects in other countries.